Assistant Professor, Applied Behavioral Sciences and Psychology
2012 Dole Human Development Center
Department Phone: 785.864.4840
Office phone: 785.864.4263
Fax: 785.864.5024
E-mail: biggsbk@ku.edu
B.A. in Psychology & German from the University of Notre Dame
M.S. in Clinical Psychology, Child Emphasis, from the Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. in Clinical Child Psychology from the University of Kansas
Clinical internship at the UCLA Neuropsychological Institute
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Stanford University Medical Center, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Research Interests
I work from a developmental-contextual model to understand children's social-emotional development in the peer context. That is, I am interested in how children and adolescents' experiences with peers (e.g., friendships, peer acceptance, victimization by bullies) influences and is influenced by their feelings, thoughts, and actions. I am also interested in how these processes unfold across time and developmental stages. My work has addressed questions related to friendship jealousy, friendship quality following relocation, enemy relationships, bully-victim dynamics, and school-based interventions. My research currently focuses on anxious children and adolescents. I aim to understand better anxious youth's social development, the processes underlying their difficulties and successes in the peer world, and how these experiences affect their well-being. Related to this area of research, I am also interested in measurement issues such as investigating the cross-cultural validity of measures and reporter effects. Ultimately, I strive for my research to have clinical application, either directly or indirectly, and lead to greater treatment success for children and adolescents.
Clinical Interests
Clinically, I am interested in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, social skills training, and school-based interventions. I am familiar with a wide variety of evidence-based treatments. My theoretical framework draws strongly from the cognitive-behavioral and systems traditions but is also influenced by interpersonal and psychodynamic perspectives.
Publications
Vernberg, E. M., Greenhoot, A., & Biggs, B. K. (2006). Intercommunity relocation and
adolescent friendships: Who struggles and why? Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 511-523.
Vernberg, E. M., Roberts, M. C., Randall, C. J., Biggs, B. K., Nyre, J. E., & Jacobs, A. K.
(2006). Intensive mental health services for children with serious emotional
disturbances through a school-based, community-oriented program. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 11, 417-430.
Randall, C. J., Nyre, J. E., & Biggs, B. K. (2006).Building successful alliances with
health care professionals. In C. Franklin, M. B. Harris, & P. Allen-Meares (Eds.), The school services sourcebook: A guide for social workers, counselors, and mental health professionals (233-244). New York: Oxford.
Parker, J. G., Low, C. M., Walker, A. R., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K. (2005). Children's
friendship jealousy: Assessment of individual differences and links to sex, self-esteem, aggression, and social adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 41, 235-250.
Dill, E. J., Vernberg, E. M., Fonagy, P., Twemlow, S. W., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K.
(2004). Negative affect in victimized children: The roles of social withdrawal,
peer rejection, and attitudes toward bullying. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32, 159-173.
Gamm [Biggs], B. K., & Vernberg, E.M. (2003) Bullies. In T. H. Ollendick & C. S.
Schroeder (Eds.), Encyclopedia of clinical child and pediatric psychology (pp. 75-76). New York: Kluwer/Plenum.
Parker, J. G., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K. (2003). Describing the dark side of children's peer
experiences: Four questions (and data) on children's enemies. In E. V. E. Hodges & N. Card (Eds.), The (unwanted) company they keep: Enemy relationships in childhood and adolescence. New Directions in Child Development (pp.55-72). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Vernberg, E. M., & Gamm [Biggs], B. K. (2003). Resistance to violence prevention
interventions in schools: Barriers and solutions. Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 5, 125-138.
